Helicopteres Guimbal CABRI G2 accident near Cahokia, Illinois, April 9, 2023
On April 9, 2023 at about 1:45 pm local time, a 2016 Helicopteres Guimbal CABRI G2, registered N372PA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Cahokia, Illinois (St Louis Downtown Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The lack of proper attachment of the cyclic control that resulted in a loss of control during a landing approach and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the improper maintenance performed.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 9, 2023 · about 1:45 pm local time
- Place
- Cahokia, Illinois · St Louis Downtown Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Helicopteres Guimbal CABRI G2, built 2016 · all CABRI G2s on the register
- Registration
- N372PA · no longer on the register · serial 1150
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor stated that during an instructional flight he lost left cyclic control during an approach for landing. The student pilot’s right cyclic controls continued to function, and the flight instructor coached him on cyclic control inputs to maintain control of the helicopter. The student’s cyclic control became unresponsive to control inputs during the attempted landing and the helicopter impacted the ground resulting in substantial damage to the main rotor blades. Postaccident examination of the flight control system revealed that retaining hardware for the pins used to attach the left cyclic control were not installed. Maintenance personnel were unable to provided information regarding previous maintenance performed on the cyclic controls. The left cyclic control did not have any deformation/damage.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Attempted remediation/recovery during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (flare/touchdown)
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Flight control system › (general) › Not specified
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 545 hours in all; 542 in this make and model; 87 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 483 as pilot in command; 315 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 5, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 131 hours in all; 17 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 34 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 2, 2010
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 7, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 1,543 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 253 hours total
- Operator: Ideal Aviation
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway Taxi, 2,000 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.40 inHg
- Observation at 8:45 am from CPS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN23LA150.